Hinge embodying hold-open means



March 17, 1964 A. R. DE vn'o HINGE EMBODYING HOLD-OPEN MEANS Filed May 16, 1960 f y yz/vroz d/vazza X 25 W70 United States Patent ()1 3,124 829 HINGE EMnonYrNG horn-(WEN MEANS Angelo R. De Vito, Rockford, Ill., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Atwood Vacuum Machine (Iompany, Rockford, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed May 16, 1960, Ser. No. 29,342 7 Claims. (Cl. 16140) This invention relates to hinges adapted for use on automobile doors and is more particularly concerned with improvements in the hold-open means embodied therein.

I am aware that various designs of hold-open devices have been proposed but most of these have been too complicated and expensive in construction and were not practical for various reasons, and it is therefore the principal object of my invention to provide hold-open means of simpler and more practical and less expensive construction and one which in the event it is given exceptionally rough usage is safeguarded against breakage of any relatively expensive parts that are difiicult to re place.

In the hinge of my invention a generally rectangular wire link pivotally connected at one end to one of the hinge members in radially spaced parallel relation to the hinge axis has its other end slidable frictionally on the other hinge member behind an elongated leaf spring that is hooked into said hinge member at one end and riveted to said hinge member at its other end, the riveted end being where the leaf spring has a detent portion formed thereon by a transverse crimp into which the link engages with snap action when the door reaches the fully opened position, whereby to hold the door releasa'bly in that position and avoid likelihood of its closing accidentally, and if the door is thrown open too violently the rivet head will break off before the leaf spring would be apt to break, so that the damage can be repaired at low cost and without a long delay in waiting for the arrival of a replacement part from a distant source. By sloping the intermediate portion of the length of the leaf spring at an acute angle with respect to the hinge member on which it is carried there is appreciably increased resistance to the doors movement as the door approaches the fully opened position so that the door can be held in any one of a number of intermediate positions from which the door may be either closed or opened farther readily, whereas a more positive hold-open action is obtained only when the door is fully opened. In another form the intermediate portion of the length of the leaf spring has two such sloped portions, one extending with greater and greater restriction toward a transverse crimp which defines a hold-open for the door in its half-way open position, and the other of which extends with greater and greater restriction to the other transverse crimp near the attached end where the door is held in its fully opened position.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a plan view of a hinge embodying a holdopen device made in accordance with my invention, showing the parts in full lines in what corresponds to the fully opened position of the door, the link and the door attached hinge member being also shown in dotted lines in what corresponds to the closed position of the door;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are face views of the inner side of the hinge member attached to the body pillar and of the hinge member attached to the door pillar, respectively, showing the wire link and its attaching strap in FIG. 2, and showing the elongated leaf spring and its fastening rivet in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a detail of the hinge member of FIG. 2;

3,124,829 Patented Mar. 17, 1964 FIGS. 5 and 6 are sectional details on the correspondingly numbered lines of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the hinge member of FIG. 3, and

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the door pillar attached hinge member of FIG. 3, showing a leaf spring thereon of a modified form from that appearing in FIG. 1.

Similar reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts in these views.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 7, the reference numerals 9 and 10 designate two members of an automobile door hinge, member 9 being attached to the body pillar by its shank portion 11 at 1-2, and member .10 being attached to the door pillar by means of its shank portion 13 at 14,. A pintle 15 entered with a drive fit in registering holes 16 in a pair of coaxially spaced knuckles 17 provided on the outer end of member 9 is received with a working fit in a bearing hole 18 provided on the single elongated knuckle 19 projecting from the outer end of member 10 and received with a working fit between the knuckles 17 of member 9. The outer end portion 20 of hinge member 10 is bent at an acute angle with respect to the shank portion 13 to oifset the knuckle 19 so that the members 9 and 10 are disposed in spaced parallel relation to one another when the door is closed, as illustrated by the dotted line position in 'FIG. 1.

In accordance with the present invention, a generally rectangular wire link 21 made from a single length of wire of circular cross-section provides coaxially aligned ends 22 for pivotal connection of the link with the inner side of the hinge member 9 where a cradle depression 23 is punched in the shank portion 11 on the inner side thereof as part of the bearing for said link, the rest of the bearing therefor being provided by the transversely crimped portion 24- of an elongated sheet metal strap 25 intermediate the ends thereof, this strap being secured at its ends by means of rivets 26 to the shank portion 11 of binge member 9- on the longitudinal center line thereof, as best appears in FIG. 2. The other end 27 of the link 21 is a cross-bar or cross-pin parallel to the trunnions 22, and is slidable frictionally on the shank portion 13 of hinge member 10 behind an elongated leaf spring 28 disposed on the longitudinal center line of binge member 10, as best appears in FIG. 3. This leaf spring 28 has its one end portion bent at right angles, as indicated at 2.9, and extending through a hole 30 in the shank portion 13 at the inner end remote from the knuckle '19, the extremity 31 of the leaf spring being bent again at right angles, as at 32, so as to extend inwardly on the back of the shank portion 13 in a groove 33 provided in the back of the shank portion 13 and communicating with the hole .39, so that this hook-in connection of the one end of the spring 28 with the shank portion 13 of hinge member 10 does not interfere in any way with the fastening of the shank portion 13 to the door pillar, the back of the shank portion remaining flush. The bent extremity 31 substantially positively limits deflection of the leaf spring at that end away from the hinge member but with a small amount of spring restrained yield by virtue of a small amount of deflection of the bent extremity relative to the hinge member. A transverse crimp 34 is made in the leaf spring 28 near its other end 3:5, which is widened and perforated, as indicated at 36, to receive the shank of rivet 37 for fastening this end to the shank portion 13. The fiat circular and fairly thin head 38 of the rivet 37 abutting the widened end 35 of the leaf spring 28 right next to the crimp 34 is adapted to break off in the event the door is thrown open too violently where there would otherwise be danger of breakage of the leaf spring 28 at its riveted end next to the crimp 34, so that it is a relatively simple and fairly inexpensive matter to re-rivet this end of the leaf spring, and there is avoided the much greater expense of replacing theleaf spring and also having to be delayed so long in await ng arrival of this part from a distant source. The leaf spring 28 has the portion 39 of its length intermediate its ends from the bend 29 to the crimp 34 inclined at a small angle with respect to the shank portion 13 to define a portion of greatest restriction at 40 right next to the crimp 34 through which the cross-bar 27 of the link 21 can pass only with increased frictional drag to enter or leave the crimped portion 34, and, of course, this frictional drag on the movement of the cross-bar 27 diminishes the farther the cross-bar moves away from the crimp 34, as should be evident from a study of FIG. 1.

In operation, in the opening of the door there is little or no frictional drag noticeable in the first 40 or more of the door opening movement because the cross-bar 27 of link 21 slides more or less freely between the shank 13 and the leaf spring 28 in this range of movement. However, in the following 45 or so of door opening movement, and particularly in the final 15 of door opening movement, the frictional drag becomes appreciable the closer the cross-bar 27 approaches the restriction 40 next to the crimp 34, and hence, the door can be held open in any one of a number of positions throughout that range and moved in either direction as the operator desires while the frictional drag is enough to prevent the door moving either way accidentally, but when the cross-bar 27 slides into the crimped portion 34 a definite holdopen action is afforded, the door being held in its fully opened position firmly enough to require a positive push or pull on it to start the closing movement. The door opening movement is, of course, positively limited by engagement of the cross-bar 27 with that side of the crimped portion 34 toward the rivet 37 and it is easy to see, therefore, that if the door is thrown open too violently the crossbar 27 forcing its way into the V defined between the inclined side 41 of the crimp 34 toward the rivet 37 and the inner face of the shank 13 tends to widen or spread the V and thereby pries off the head 38 of the rivet 37.

Referring to FIG. 8, hinge member intended for fastening to the door pillar is the same as hinge member 10 of FIGS. 1 and 3, and corresponding portions are similarly numbered, using prime numerals. However, the leaf spring 28, which is similar to the leaf spring 28 of FIGS. 1 and 3 in so far as its hook-in connection at one end 31 is concerned, and its fastening at the other end with a rivet 37 with a specially designed head 38 that will break off in the event of too violent opening of the door so as to prevent breakage of the leaf spring, is otherwise the same as spring 28 only in so far as the provision of the transverse crimp 34' at the riveted end is concerned, there being an additional transverse crimp provided at 42 intermediate the ends of the spring, nearer the hook-in end, and the spring being bent to define ramps or inclines at 43 and 44, the high end of ramp 43 being at the crimp 42 and the high end of ramp 44 being at crimp 34'. In that way there is a restriction at 45 through which the cross-bar 27 of link 21 must pass in the opening of the door to engage crimp 42 to hold the door open at its 45 or half-open position, and when the door is in that position the cross-bar 27, being at the low end of ramp 44, can move away from the crimp 42 much more easily than in the opposite direction, and hence, a person having opened the door half-way and finding it necessary to open it a little farther can do so without too much ditficulty and the door will stay in whatever position is selected, due to the frictional drag imposed on the cross-bar 27 by the leaf spring 28, but there is no danger of the door swinging to its fully opened position accidentally, nor is there any danger of it closing accidentally. Otherwise, the operation of the door with this spring 28' is the same as with the spring 28 of FIGS. 1 and 3.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. In a hinge comprising two hinge members pivotally connected to swing relative to one another through a given angularity, the improvement which consists in an elongated link pivotally connected at one end to one of said hinge members in radially spaced parallel relation to the hinge axis and having a cross-pin on its other end also parallel to said hinge axis and slidable lengthwise of the other hinge member toward and away from said hinge axis in the opening and closing of the hinge, an elongated leaf spring adapted to be secured to and extending lengthwise of said other hinge member and closely slidably confining said cross-pin between it and said hinge member to resist by its deflection the sliding movement of said cross-pin and accordingly hold said hinge members yieldingly in different open positions, said spring carrying hinge member having an opening provided there in adjacent one end of said leaf spring, said leaf spring having that end thereof bent substantially at right angles to the hinge member and extending into the opening and then again substantially at right angles so as to hook onto said hinge member detachably in said opening and thereby also substantially positively limit deflection of said leaf spring at that end away from said hinge member but with a small amount of spring restrained yield by virtue of deflection of the bent extremity relative to said hinge member, and means rigidly securing the other end of said leaf spring to said hinge member, said leaf spring providing at its opposite ends full clearance for said cross-pin between it and the hinge member.

2. A hinge as set forth in claim 1 wherein said leaf spring has a transverse crimp defined in said other end providing the full clearance behind it for said cross-pin in the fully opened position, said leaf spring between said crimp and the said one end extending a major portion of its length at an acute angle relative to said spring carrying hinge member to afford gradually increased resistance to hinge opening movement.

3. A hinge as set forth in claim 1 wherein said leaf spring has a transverse crimp defined in said other end and at a point intermediate the ends, at each Of which crimps full clearance is provided for said cross-pin, Said leaf spring between said crimps extending a major portion of its length at an acute angle relative to said spring carrying hinge member to afford gradually increased resrstance to hinge opening movement while afiording substantially the same hold-open action at each of the crimps for fully opened position and partway open position, only a small portion of the length of said leaf spring at said one end remaining beyond the intermediate crimp, this end portion being inclined in the same direction as the said major portion but at a greater angle.

4. A hinge as set forth in claim 1 wherein said leaf sprlnghas a transverse crimp defined in said other end prov1d1ng the full cleareance behind it for said crosspin 111 1118 fully opened position, said leaf spring between said crimp and the said one end extending a major portion of its length at an acute angle relative to said spring carrying h nge member to afford gradually increased resistance to hrngeopening movement, one side of the crimp defining 'APOSIUVC stop for the cross-pin on that side toward the hinge axis to limit opening movement in fully opened position, and the means for rigidly securing the end of said leaf spring being at this end and comprising a rivet alongside said crimp, the head of said rivet being of small thickness in relation to radius and enlarged in radius toward and for abutment with the crimp at one point of its periphery to increase the likelihood of fracturing said r vet head instead of the leaf spring in the event of too violent opening of the hinge.

5. A hinge as set forth in claim 1 wherein said leaf spring has a transverse crimp defined in said other end providing the full clearance behind it for said icrosspin in the fully opened position, said leaf spring between said crimp and the said one end extending a major portion of its length at an acute angle relative to said spring carrying hinge member to afiord gradually increased resistance to hinge opening movement, one side of the crimp defining a positive stop for the cross-pin on that side toward the hinge axis to limit hinge opening movement in 'fully opened position, and the means for rigidly securing the end of said leaf spring being at this end and comprising a rivet alongside said crimp, the head or said rivet being of small thickness in relation to radius and enlarged in radius toward and for abutment with the crimp at one point of its periphery to increase the likelihood of fracturing said rivet head instead of the leaf spring in the event of too violent opening of the hinge, the cross-pin being of cylindrical form and there being a V defined by said leaf spring on the stop side of the crimp between the riveted end portion of said leaf spring and the hinge member into the open end of which said cross-pin wedgingly engages in the event of too violent opening of the hinge so as to fracture said rivet head.

6. In a hinge comprising two hinge members pivotally connected to swing relative to one another through a given angulari-ty, the improvement which consists in an elongated link pivotally connected at one end to one of said hinge members in radially spaced parallel relation to the hinge taxis and having a cross-pin on its other end also parallel to said hinge am's and slidable lengthwise of the other hinge member toward and away from said hinge axis in the opening and closing of the hinge, an elongated leaf spring adapted to be secured to and eX- tending lengthwise of said other hinge member and closely slidable confining said cross-pin between it and said hinge member to resist by its deflection the sliding movement of said erosspin and accordingly hold said hinge members yieldingly in different open positions, and means whereby the opposite ends of said leaf spring are secured to said hinge member providing at its opposite ends full clearance for said cross-pin between it and the hinge member, the one secured end of said leaf spring defining a positive stop for the cross-pin to limit hinge opening movement in fully opened position, the means for securing this end of said leaf spring comprising a rivet alongside said stop defining portion of said leaf spring, the head of said rivet being of small thickness in relation to radius and enlarged in radius toward and for abutment with said stop defining portion of said leaf spring to increase the likelihood of fracturing the rivet head instead of the leaf spring in the event of too violent opening of the hinge.

7. A hinge as set forth in claim 6 in which the crosspin is of cylindrical form, and there is a V defined by the leaf spring at the stop between the riveted end portion of said leaf spring and the hinge member into the open end of which said cross-pin wedgingly engages in the event of too violent opening of the hinge so as to fracture said rivet head.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 818,733 Blesch Apr. 24, 1906 1,230,986 Ber-gland June 26, 1917 2,560,477 Roethel July 10, 1951 2,709,275 Johnson May 31, 1955 

1. IN A HINGE COMPRISING TWO HINGE MEMBERS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SWING RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER THROUGH A GIVEN ANGULARITY, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH CONSISTS IN AN ELONGATED LINK PIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT ONE END TO ONE OF SAID HINGE MEMBERS IN RADIALLY SPACED PARALLEL RELATION TO THE HINGE AXIS AND HAVING A CROSS-PIN ON ITS OTHER END ALSO PARALLEL TO SAID HINGE AXIS AND SLIDABLE LENGTHWISE OF THE OTHER HINGE MEMBER TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID HINGE AXIS IN THE OPENING AND CLOSING OF THE HINGE, AN ELONGATED LEAF SPRING ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO AND EXTENDING LENGTHWISE OF SAID OTHER HINGE MEMBER AND CLOSELY SLIDABLY CONFINING SAID CROSS-PIN BETWEEN IT AND SAID HINGE MEMBER TO RESIST BY ITS DEFLECTION THE SLIDING MOVEMENT OF SAID CROSS-PIN AND ACCORDINGLY HOLD SAID HINGE MEMBERS YIELDINGLY IN DIFFERENT OPEN POSITIONS, SAID SPRING CARRYING HINGE MEMBER HAVING AN OPENING PROVIDED THEREIN ADJACENT ONE END OF SAID LEAF SPRING, SAID LEAF SPRING HAVING THAT END THEREOF BENT SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE HINGE MEMBER AND EXTENDING INTO THE OPENING AND THEN AGAIN SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES SO AS TO HOOK ONTO SAID HINGE MEMBER DETACHABLY IN SAID OPENING AND THEREBY ALSO SUBSTANTIALLY POSITIVELY LIMIT DEFLECTION OF SAID LEAF SPRING AT THAT END AWAY FROM SAID HINGE MEMBER BUT WITH A SMALL AMOUNT OF SPRING RESTRAINED YIELD BY VIRTUE OF DEFLECTION OF THE BENT EXTREMITY RELATIVE TO SAID HINGE MEMBER, AND MEANS RIGIDLY SECURING THE OTHER END OF SAID LEAF SPRING TO SAID HINGE MEMBER, SAID LEAF SPRING PROVIDING AT ITS OPPOSITE ENDS FULL CLEARANCE FOR SAID CROSS-PIN BETWEEN IT AND THE HINGE MEMBER. 